Tag Archives: redistricting

African-American State Reps state their map objections

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Black-lawmakers-blast-revised-Texas-voting-maps-2346838.php Contending that African Americans have been an afterthought during the contentious yearlong redistricting process, four Houston lawmakers on Monday voiced their objections to the interim House map a three-judge panel drew recently. “A lot of emphasis over the past … Continue reading →

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Do over!

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This should come as a surprise to no one. Steve Munisteri, chair of the Republican Party of Texas, told party members last week that, if the court-drawn interim maps stand, he would seek to have Republican candidates for the Texas … Continue reading →

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Sizing up the opportunities

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story about the new Congressional map and who’s looking at what (which ran in the Express News last week) has a lot of things we’ve been discussing, and a couple of things to point out. First, a theme … Continue reading →

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Still waiting on SCOTUS

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Responses to the State of Texas’ stay request for State House and State Senate elections were due Thursday. Responses to the stay request for Congressional elections, which was filed Wednesday, are due this morning. It’s not clear when SCOTUS will … Continue reading →

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Hochberg bows out, Gallego makes it official

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I am totally bummed out by this. The Legislature’s foremost expert on school finance and one of its top public education advocates, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, confirmed this afternoon that he won’t seek re-election next year. Hochberg, who took … Continue reading →

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CD35 will still have a contested primary

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It won’t be Doggett versus Castro but it still ought to be interesting. The battle for a newly drawn congressional district will pit two seasoned Democratic politicians against one another: Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Sylvia S. Romo and former U.S. … Continue reading →

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Two more points about redistricting

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

First, go read what Greg has to say about the San Antonio federal court’s logic in drawing the districts that it did. I tried to get at some of this in this post, but he digs in and says it … Continue reading →

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A little perspective about redistricting

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So now we wait for the full Supreme Court’s ruling on AG Abbott’s requests to stay the 2012 elections, which by the way would only apply to the elections affected by the disputed redistricting maps. Other primary elections for things … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS asks for briefs in stay request

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We still have a few more days at least before we get some kind of resolution over the maps we will be using for this election. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop … Continue reading →

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A look ahead to SBOE races

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Regardless of what happens with the other maps, the one map that was precleared and is set for the next decade is the SBOE. With all 15 members up for re-election (like the Senate, everyone has to run in the … Continue reading →

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Filing season opens today

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s supposed to open today, anyway. It may get pushed back a day or two until the remaining legal actions get sorted out. As we know, after being turned down by the San Antonio federal Court, AG Greg Abbott is … Continue reading →

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Galveston County redistricting plan blocked by federal judge

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Seems to be a lot of stories like this these days. A U.S. District Court judge has blocked the county’s redistricting plan for this election cycle because it has not received preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice. In an … Continue reading →

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Rep. Charlie Gonzalez to retire

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As the story says, it’s the end of an era. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez said Friday he will not seek re-election, a decision that will end the congressional tenure of a Democratic family whose name has been synonymous with the city … Continue reading →

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Going for the stay

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Late Wednesday, AG Greg Abbott requested that the San Antonio court stay its order implementing new maps for Congress, the State House, and the State Senate, exhibiting his usual grace and class in doing so. Not unexpectedly, the San Antonio … Continue reading →

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Pena steps down

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bye-bye, Aaron. State Rep. Aaron Peña will retire at the end of this term rather than seek re-election under interim political maps for the Texas House of Representatives that stripped him of a district offering the best opportunity for a … Continue reading →

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Minor tweaks to interim county map approved

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Barring anything strange, we should have a final county map for the 2012 election. A federal judge has granted several small changes Harris County requested to an interim redistricting map produced as part of a lawsuit Latino activists filed against … Continue reading →

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Modified House and Senate maps are out

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has now issued orders that slightly tweaked the State House and State Senate maps; the new plans are H302 and S164, respectively. The modifications are minor and mostly affect a few districts in Harris … Continue reading →

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First thoughts on the new Congressional map

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

OK, down to business. Here’s a map of the new plan, which was unanimously approved by the three judges, the 2008 election data, and here’s 2010 election data. Going by the 2012 data, I break it down as follows: Strong … Continue reading →

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Interim Congressional map is out

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a Thanksgiving miracle! Plan C220, which you can find here, is the Court’s proposed interim map for Congress. I will be looking at this, and will have my thoughts plus electoral data later.

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Chron story on the interim Harris County map

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the weekend order to implement an interim map for Harris County. As expected, the plaintiffs are happy about this. Of interest to me is the county’s response. Gene Locke, an attorney representing the county, said … Continue reading →

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More map feedback

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to AG Abbott’s pitiful whining, a few other parties have been heard from regarding the interim legislative map. First, Speaker Joe Straus performs his duty as a Republican. Here’s his statement: “As the panel of three federal judges … Continue reading →

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Harris County interim map is out

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, judges do work on weekends, because federal Judge Vanessa Gilmore issued this order on Saturday creating an interim map for Harris County, to be used for the 2012 election while the Section 2 lawsuit is being litigated. Greg has … Continue reading →

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State objects to court-drawn maps

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office on Friday slammed an interim redistricting map proposed by a three-judge panel in San Antonio, saying the federal jurists overstepped their bounds in redrawing House and Senate district lines that could cost … Continue reading →

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First impressions of the new maps

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get too into this, the invaluable Texas Redistricting reminds us that the parties in the lawsuit will be able to make objections and comments to the proposed maps today at noon. Meaning, there may yet be some tweaks … Continue reading →

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Interim State House and State Senate maps are out

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And I don’t have any time right now to analyze them, but believe you me, I will. Go here and look at Plans H298 and S163, the latter of which appears to mostly restore Sen. Wendy Davis’ district. Also take … Continue reading →

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Harris interim map up to the judge

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the San Antonio interim map action, we are fixing to get a 2012 map for Harris County courtesy of the federal judiciary. A federal judge will draw interim boundaries for Harris County commissioner precincts after the county … Continue reading →

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Yet another redistricting update

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, I point you to Michael Li. What’s next in the D.C. case? Basically two things. The first is that the D.C. panel will issue a memorandum opinion explaining in greater detail the reasons for its denial of summary … Continue reading →

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Harris County interim map in the works

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Speaking of interim maps, Harris County and the plaintiffs suing over the proposed new County Commissioners have begun mediation to come up with a temporary solution of their own. The goal of the mediation is to draft an interim map … Continue reading →

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HISD to take over North Forest ISD

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be a challenge, assuming it does go forward. The North Forest Independent School District is nearing the end of its appeals to stay open, paving the way for Houston ISD to take over. State education commissioner … Continue reading →

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Will we get some interim maps Monday?

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio announced Thursday they would postpone a trial over the redistricting plan for the Texas Senate so they can focus on developing interim redistricting maps for the 2012 election. Texas Redistricting … Continue reading →

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Berlanga and Craig to retire from SBOE, Ames Jones changes Senate races

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This could be bad news. Longtime State Board of Education members Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, and Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi, said they will not run for re-election in 2012. First elected in 1982, Berlanga said 30 years on the board … Continue reading →

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DC court denies summary judgment on preclearance

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official, the maps the Lege drew for itself and for Congress will not be used in the 2012 election. A Washington-based federal court on Tuesday rejected Texas’ request to approve new political districts without a trial. In a brief … Continue reading →

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New filing dates announced

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has taken the first steps towards defining what the 2012 election will look like in Texas. A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio on Friday changed key rules for some candidates for … Continue reading →

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Interim maps and the DC preclearance case

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has been hearing arguments about proposed interim Congressional maps this week. Michael Li summarizes the plaintiffs’ case for why the map adopted by the Lege cannot be used, even as a starting point. Right … Continue reading →

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